Understanding the Concept of Nature Quiz

Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ______ or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part of nature, human activity or humans as a whole are often described as at times at odds, or outright seperate and even superior to nature.

During the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries, nature became the passive reality, organized and moved by divine laws. With the ______, nature increasingly became seen as the part of reality deprived from intentional intervention: it was hence considered as sacred by some traditions (Rousseau, American transcendentalism) or a mere decorum for divine providence or human history (Hegel, Marx).

However, a ______ vision of nature, closer to the pre-Socratic one, got reborn at the same time, especially after Charles Darwin.

Within the various uses of the word today, 'nature' often refers to ______ and wildlife.

Nature can refer to the general realm of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects—the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the ______ and geology of the Earth.